I have kept wethered soays for many year, and they stayed with the same sheeding
schedule as my breed stock.
I did have a ewe who lost wool down to the skin in Feb. and it was due to a wool
tick. I gave her a shot of Ivermectin and that did the trick.

I do spin soay fiber, but it is a lot of work. I am spinning it on a drop
spindle and that seems to work better for me than a wheel. The down fiber need
a lot of twist to hold together.

Good luck,
Barbara
Bramble Ridge Farm
Toledo, OR
www.brambleridgesoay.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Thornton" <paulthornton@...>
To: soaysheep@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 3:25:57 PM (GMT-0800) America/Los_Angeles
Subject: RE: [soaysheep] soay losing wool (not shedding)







Kristen,

Your descriptions sounds like moulting, which can occur to reveal bare skin,
but it is somewhat late in the year.

I have been told by someone in the past that the cyclical moulting only
takes place reliably in breeding animals. It would fit that your lad's
biorythyms & hormones will be lacking given that he is a whether. We have
not kept soay whethers to more than 16 months.

Can anyone confirm or rubbish the importance of fertility in respect of
moulting and it's timing?

Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: soaysheep@yahoogroups.com [mailto: soaysheep@yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf
Of katya872
Sent: 11 December 2007 16:27
To: soaysheep@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [soaysheep] soay losing wool (not shedding)

I have a 1 1/2 yr old soay wether who is losing clumps of wool (down to
skin). He doesn't appear to be sick, no fever, no nasal gunk, lungs
clear. He does look dandruffish where the wool is falling out- but it
is winter, so I wasn't sure if external parasites could be the
problem. I gave him an injection of ivermectin and used pyrethryn
(sp?) on him topically. None of the other animals seem affected.
(there are a few other sheep and some angora goats). He is fed sheep
grain and loose sheep minerals and hay. I gave him some vitamin paste
as well. Is there anything that soays are susceptible to?

On another note- what sorts of things do people do with their wool- is
it spinable? felting? He is just the sweetest thing. I was buying a
little shetland for one of my kids in 4H and just fell in love with him
and brought him home for myself.

Thanks,
Kristen in CT

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